Belize Family Holiday: Lamanai, Caye Caulker and Placencia
Thirteen days of river boats, Maya temples, sharks and stingrays, golf carts and beaches: a Belize family holiday that keeps everyone wide-eyed, whatever their age.
Your trip
Your 13 days in Belize
Belize is made for families. Everyone speaks English, the distances are short and every day has something that makes children forget their phones. You start at a jungle lodge by the river at Lamanai, where the howler monkeys wake you up and the temples are there to be climbed. Then three nights on Caye Caulker, an island with sand streets and golf carts, and a boat trip to snorkel with nurse sharks and stingrays. Back on the mainland you meet a jaguar at the Belize Zoo, cross a river on a hand-cranked ferry to Xunantunich and ride horses in the Cayo hills, before the Hummingbird Highway takes you down to Placencia for the reef, the beach and the Monkey River. Every transfer is private, every guide is licensed, and the pace leaves room for doing nothing at all.
At a glance
13 days
Private tripJust your own party
Easy to ModerateActivity level
Flights includedATOL protected
Flexible datesYou choose when you go
BelizeOur destination guide
What makes it special
Highlights
A lodge at Lamanai
A jungle lodge by the river at Lamanai, with howler monkeys in the trees
Two Maya cities
Climb the Maya temples of Lamanai and Xunantunich, one reached by hand-cranked ferry
Shark Ray Alley
Snorkel with nurse sharks and stingrays at Shark Ray Alley, a short boat ride from Caye Caulker
Caye Caulker
Caye Caulker by golf cart, on an island whose motto is Go Slow
The Belize Zoo
The Belize Zoo, where rescued native animals live, jaguars and tapirs included
The inland Blue Hole
A swim in the inland Blue Hole on the Hummingbird Highway
The Silk Cayes
A beach lunch on the Silk Cayes after a morning on the reef
Flights from the UK
Return flights from London, so the whole holiday is ATOL protected
Day by day
Your itinerary
Day 1Arrive in Belize, up the river to Lamanai
Your driver meets you at Belize City airport for the trip north to a jungle lodge on the lagoon at Lamanai, your home for three nights with all your meals. If your flights land late, we book the first night near the airport and go on in the morning. All meals included from dinner.
Day 2The temples of Lamanai
Lamanai was lived in by the Maya for some three thousand years, far longer than most Maya cities. With a guide you walk the forest paths to the Mask Temple, with its great stone faces, and climb the High Temple for a view over the treetops and the lagoon. Howler monkeys are often in the trees around the site. All meals included.
Day 3River, forest and the night
The lodge guides take you out by canoe on the lagoon and on forest walks for birds and iguanas. After dark you go out by boat with a spotlight, looking for the red glow of crocodile eyes along the bank. All meals included.
Day 4To Caye Caulker
A drive back to Belize City and a water taxi out to Caye Caulker, where the streets are sand, the transport is a golf cart and the island motto is Go Slow. Three nights by the sea. Breakfast included.
Day 5Sharks and stingrays
A boat trip to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. You snorkel through a channel in the reef full of fish and turtles, then slip into water where nurse sharks and southern stingrays glide around you, gentle and curious. Snorkel gear included. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 6An island day
Hire a golf cart and explore, swim at the Split, or go out fishing with a local captain for the afternoon and have your catch cooked for dinner. Breakfast included.
Day 7The Belize Zoo and the Cayo hills
A water taxi back to the mainland and a drive west, stopping at the Belize Zoo, where every animal is native to Belize and many were rescued. Jaguars, tapirs, toucans and harpy eagles are all there. You arrive in the evening at a family resort in the Cayo countryside for three nights. Breakfast included.
Day 8Xunantunich by hand-cranked ferry
A ferry worked by hand takes you over the Mopan river to Xunantunich, where the children can race up El Castillo for the view into Guatemala. After lunch, Cahal Pech, a smaller Maya site on a hill above San Ignacio, and an ice cream in town. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 9A day for the family
Your choice: horse riding through the hills, a canoe trip on the Macal river, the butterfly farm, or the pool. Breakfast included.
Day 10The Hummingbird Highway to Placencia
The prettiest road in Belize runs over the Maya Mountains to the coast. You stop on the way for a swim in the inland Blue Hole, a turquoise pool in the forest, then carry on to the Placencia peninsula for three nights. Breakfast included.
Day 11The reef and the Silk Cayes
By boat out to the barrier reef to snorkel, then lunch on the beach at the Silk Cayes, three tiny islands of sand and palms in the middle of the sea. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 12Beach or the Monkey River
Spend the day on the beach, or take a boat up the Monkey River to look for howler monkeys, crocodiles and, with luck, manatees. Breakfast included.
Day 13Fly home
A short flight from Placencia to Belize City for your flight home, arriving in the UK the next day. Breakfast included.
Your price covers
What's included
Flights
Return flights from London to Belize City, changing planes in the US or Canada (other UK airports on request)
We can also book other airlines, including flights with one stop, to suit your dates and preferences.
Accommodation
Twelve nights in a jungle lodge at Lamanai, a seaside hotel on Caye Caulker, a family resort in Cayo and a beach hotel in Placencia, family rooms where available, named in your quote
Meals
All meals at the Lamanai lodge, breakfast every day elsewhere, and lunch on the trip days in the itinerary
Transport
Private transfers by road, water taxis to and from Caye Caulker, and the short flight from Placencia to Belize City
Guides and tours
Every trip in the itinerary with a licensed local guide
Also included
Snorkel gear on the reef days, and entry to the Belize Zoo, every Maya site and every marine park on the route
ATOL protection
ATOL protection on the whole holiday
Not included: Travel insurance · Meals not listed · Drinks · Tips for guides and drivers · A US ESTA or Canadian eTA for the connecting flight · Personal spending
Your next step
Dates and price
No commitment, we reply within one working day
Before you book
Frequently Asked Questions
We price every Belize holiday to your dates, the lodges you like and the flights on the day, so there is no set price on this page. Tell us when you would like to travel and we will send a full quote, with flights, hotels and every trip included. Nothing is booked until you are happy with it.
From about six or seven, when children can snorkel with a vest on and enjoy a boat ride. Teenagers love it. The days are short, the transfers are short, and there is a free day or a beach afternoon every two or three days. Tell us the ages and we will tune it.
Yes, with a guide in the water and a life vest for anyone who wants one. Shark Ray Alley is shallow, and the nurse sharks and stingrays there are used to people. The guides keep the group together and tell you exactly what to do before you get in.
There is no direct flight. Most routes change planes in the US, often with a night on the way, and on winter Sundays one route via Montréal lands the same evening. The days on this page start when you land in Belize. We book the flights with the holiday, so the whole trip is ATOL protected, and you will need an ESTA or a Canadian eTA for the connection.
The dry season, February to May, is the best time for the reef, the caves and the ruins. June to December is the rainy season, with heavy showers that tend to come in the afternoon, and the hurricane season runs from June to November, with most of the risk from August to October. It is warm all year, around 29 degrees.
Plan your Belize family holiday
Tell us your dates and the ages of everyone travelling, and we will send a full quote for your Belize family holiday, with flights, hotels and every trip included.
Photo/Video courtesy of the Belize Tourism Board
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